YA, which stands for young adult, is a monster book category in more ways than one. It has grown in sales by more than 20 percent since 1999, indicating that teen-agers are reading. Not surprisingly, fantasy and romance are popular genres within the genre. Me-against-the-world is understandably huge, as are dystopian settings — look at the success of “The Hunger Games” series. And the angel, guardian or not, seems to be the creature
du jour, though it can't yet be crowned the new vampire, which refuses to die.

With summer just around the corner, here's a look at some recent books with which middle- and high-schoolers might like to share a shady tree.

Ohio English teacher Ty Burr's debut novel arrives just in time for National Poetry Month in April.
“So Shelly” (Delacorte Press for Young Readers, $17.99, 14 and older) has an interesting premise: What if Romantic (yes, with a capital R) literary giants Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley (creator of “Frankenstein”) were living adolescents today? How would their personalities collide, especially when one of their own is the victim of an “accidental” drowning?

Best-selling Florida author Tammar Stein (“Light Years” was a 2006 American Library Association best book of the year) says her new one,
“Kindred” (Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 12 and older), was inspired by a Black Crowes' lyric: “Says she talks to angels / They call her out by name.” The Florida author started to think: “Angels knowing you by name? That can't be good.” The novel focuses on an unassuming college freshman, stuck on campus during Spring Break, who is visited by the Archangel Raphael. And his feathers are ruffled.

“Clique” series author Lisi Harrison builds on the success of her “Monster High” debut last year with
“The Ghoul Next Door” (Poppy, $16.99, 12 and older). Green-skinned, bolt-necked, teenage organ transplant with attitude Frankie Stein returns to Merston High, scene of fashion wars between RADs (Regular Attribute Dodgers) and normies.

While we're trying on fashion, Bianca Turetsky, who runs artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel's studio, had a brainstorm with
“The Time-Traveling Fashionista” (Little, Brown, $17.99, 12 and older), which asks the question: What if a beautiful vintage dress could take you back in time?

Inspired by author Andrea Davis Pinkney's great-grandfather, a boxing hopeful named Cyclone Williams
, “Bird in a Box” (Little, Brown, $16.99, ages 8 to 12) focuses on three young Depression-era African American friends whose dreams parallel those of their hero, boxer Joe Louis, as he struggles to become heavyweight champ.

With 16 books about the fantasy realm of Tortall under her belt over the past 20 years, Tamora Pierce is one of the big names in YA.
“Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales” (Random House Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 12 and older) gathers 11 tales, three of them unpublished, six featuring old Tortall friends including Alanna the knight, Numair the mage and Daine the wolf-speaker.

Prolific author Ridley Pearson — he writes adult thrillers as well as the “Peter and the Star Catchers” series with Dave Barry — returns with the fourth book in the “Kingdom Keepers” series.
“Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play” (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99, 10 and older) finds our young hologram heroes battling the Overtakers, a group of Disney villains.

Fans of “The Hunger Games” might find something equally freaky in Lovecraft, the fictional setting of Caitlin Kittredge's
“The Iron Thorn” (Delacorte, $17.99, 12 and older). The Proctors rule the city, which has been ravaged by a necrovirus (think zombies) that causes insanity. Aoife (one of the joys of YA is pronouncing heroine's names) is facing her 16th birthday, and it is anything but sweet. She receives a mysterious letter that tells her to “find the witch's alphabet” in order to save herself. (Bonus: perhaps readers will Google Lovecraft and discover the great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft's substantial body of work.)

For those who need a break from the mental rigors of the fantasy genre, let reality bite with
“The Queen of Water” (Delacorte, $16.99, 12 and older), a true story by Americás Award winner Laura Resau, in collaboration with María Virginia Farinango. Virginia is taken from her Andean village in Ecuador at age 7 to work for a
mestizo couple. Promises of pay, family visits and school are quickly broken, and the young
indígena must struggle to maintain her spirit and find her place in the world.

“We love it when a manuscript comes to us that is full and rich and opens up windows into other cultures,” says John Byrd of independent El Paso press Cinco Puntos. He's talking about J.L. Powers'
“This Thing Called the Future” (Cinco Puntos, $16.95, 12 and older), which offers a glimpse into life in the shantytowns of South Africa.

Boys can be tough to read, when it comes to reading. Here are a couple of books that might pry them away from the Game Boy.

Set in the '60s against a backdrop of Vietnam and moon launches, Gary D. Schmidt's 2009 Newberry Honor novel “The Wednesday Wars” introduced us to affable seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood in a powerful coming-of-age tale. The new one
“Okay for Now” (Clairon, $16.99, 12 and older) focuses on his angry pal Doug, who's not happy about moving to upstate New York — until he befriends an eccentric playwright.

“Dark Hunter” (there are those vampires again) author Sherrilyn Kenyon, who has more than 23 million books in print, introduces a new series, “Chronicles of Nick” with
“Invincible” (St. Martin's Griffin/ $17.99, 12 and older). Nick Gautier is having trouble in school with his principal and his coach, but that's nothing compared to the zombies, shape-shifters and demons out to claim his soul.

And, back to National Poetry Month, Grand Central Publishing has just issued
“100 Poems for Boys” (Grand Central, $12.99), featuring poems about animals, battlefields and heroes, “things to think about” and “just for laughs” by the likes of Blake, Poe, Whitman, Frost, Lewis Carroll and the aforementioned Shelley. And yes, there's a version for girls, too.